Oath of the Death Knight

Death Knights are paladins that use the powers of Life and Death to waylay their opponents and bolster their allies. While not able to field the kinds of armies that a Necromancer would, Death Knights commonly have a cohort of powerful undead as a retinue.

To take the Oath of the Death Knight is to embrace life, death, and the space between. Where most see undead as beings of evil, the Death Knight finds in them efficient, loyal soldiers that can be directed for good or evil. A Death Knight might use their power to put an end to a scheming necromancer who is raising a host of undead to conquer a city, to oppose a tyrant who oppresses the common people, or to protect a caravan of refugees.

Death Knights will wade into battle alongside their minions, employing magic to heal and buff their allies, sapping the life force from their enemies and animating them as new soldiers in their army as they fall.

Most Death Knights Lawful, holding to a strict code of honor they set upon themselves, or was set upon them by knightly order, even though their power may set them outside the laws of the region they find themselves in. Good and Evil Death Knights exist, but most adventuring Death Knights are of neutral alignment, pursuing their personal missions and interests above all else.

TENETS OF THE DEATH KNIGHT

The tenets of a Death Knight vary greatly dependent on Alignment. Below is an oath template that might be followed by a Lawful Neutral Death Knight. Your Death Knight might have more specific oaths in line with a particular knightly order. If that is the case, draft at least four tenets that outline:

• The general mission or goal of your Death Knight
• Philosophy of use necromancy
• Personal demeanor
• Alignment

Mastery. Life and Death are cosmic forces to be harnessed.

All Will Serve. Strike down those who oppose you. Raise them to fight in your army. Discarded remains, bones, and corpses are yours to reanimate. Do not defile those laid to rest.

Calm of the Dead. Embrace the calm of the dead, that you might better pursue your mission. Passion is the enemy of duty.

Second to One. Uphold the laws of man, except when they contradict your Tenets.

Death Knight Spells

 A Death Knight loses previously gained oath spells and instead gains the following Death Knight spells at the paladin levels listed.

PALADIN LEVEL	SPELLS
3rd	hellish rebuke, inflict wounds
5th	Gentle Repose, darkness, [Tooltip Not Found]
9th	summon undead, bestow curse, animate dead
13th	blight, confusion
17th	contagion, danse macabre

Channel Divinity

A Death Knight of 3rd level or higher gains the following Channel Divinity options.

Control Undead. As an action, the paladin targets one undead creature they can see within 30-ft. The target must make a WIS saving throw against the Paladin's spellcasting DC. Undead with an intelligence score higher than 8 have advantage on the save. On a failed save, the target undead is enthralled by the paladin, obeying its commands indefinitely or until this ability is used again. If the target succeeds, it is immune to this effect. An undead whose challenge rating is equal to or greater than the paladin’s level, or who has an intelligence score of 12 or higher, is immune to this effect.

Create Undead. The Death Knight can use an Action to target a number of corpses or piles of bones up to their proficiency bonus within 30 feet and within their sight. Corpses rise and bones are stitched together through necromantic magic, creating an undead minion under the Death Knight's control for each corpse/set of bones. The types of undead that can be created using this spell are: Zombie, Skeleton, Wight Ghoul, Ghast, Warhorse Skeleton. Additionally, other Zombie, Skeleton, or Wight variations such as Ogre Zombie or Minotaur Skeleton can be created. For Turning purposes, the CR of each skeleton raised with this ability is equal to 1/4 of your levels in Paladin, rounded down. The corpse/bones used for the reanimation must be appropriate for the type of undead you are trying to create. You can use this ability once per short or long rest.

Roll initiative for the undead if they are raised in combat. They obey your verbal or telepathic commands which can be given to any/all of your minions as a bonus action. In the absence of any commands, they defend you and themselves. The undead remain in your service until they are destroyed or you release them, at which point they are destroyed.

CR Control limit: Control up to 1/4 your level in Paladin in total CR of undead created from this ability. This increases to 1/2 your level in Paladin at 10th level. Undead created through any other means do not count toward your CR control limit. Undead bound by Control Undead do not count toward this limit.

 

Necrotic Smite

Necrotic Smite. When Divine Smite or Improved Divine Smite deal damage, the Paladin can choose to deal Necrotic damage instead of Radiant. When consuming spell slots with Divine Smite and taking this option, the bonus 1d8 damage is granted against Humanoids and Celestials instead of Undead and Fiends.

Aura of Undeath

Starting at 7th level, the paladin gains a bonus to melee weapon damage rolls equal to the paladin’s Charisma modifier (minimum of +1). Friendly undead within 10 feet of the paladin gains a bonus to melee weapon damage and attack rolls equal to the paladin’s Charisma modifier (minimum of +1).

A creature can benefit from this feature from only one paladin at a time.

At 18th level, the range of this aura increases to 30 feet.

Avatar of Death

At 15th level, the death knight gains resistance to non-magical slashing, piercing, and bludgeoning damage. In addition, the Death Knight takes on some of the traits of the Undead:

• You no longer age, and are immune to all aging effects
• You no longer require sleep or food, and can achieve Long Rest by doing four hours of light activity.
• Your hit point maximum cannot be reduced
• You gain resistance to Necrotic Damage

 

Death Lord

At 20th level, the paladin can, as an action, surround himself or herself with an aura of death that lasts for 1 minute. Any creatures the paladin chooses which start their turn within the 30-ft. aura is afflicted with level 3 Exhaustion, granting disadvantage on ability checks, attack rolls,  and saving throws and their movement speed is halved. If a creature thus afflicted leaves the aura, the exhaustion fades at 1 level per turn spent entirely outside the aura. Successful attacks against creatures effected by the aura deal an additional 3d8 + Charisma Modifier necrotic damage, healing the attacker for half, rounded down.

Creatures which are immune to exhaustion do not suffer from the exhaustion effects, but do suffer from the bonus necrotic damage.

After activating the aura, the paladin can’t do so again until he or she finishes a long rest.